Pollutants, from incineration

Kim, S.-C., 2001. Emission characteristic of dioxins/furans and major air pollutants from incinerators. J. Environ. Toxicol, (in Korean) Special Lecture in The Korean Society of Environmental Toxicology 2001. 

Ways to mitigate the emission of pollutants from incinerators include the capture of particulates by installing filters and systems to quickly quench hot exiting gases in order to decrease dioxin formation, and the use of sensors to constantly monitor the emitted gases so as to obtain timely feedback for the control of the pertinent process parameters. 

The new standards do not explicitly regulate medical and infectious waste but do so indirectly for those disposed of using incineration as a means of disposal. These rules were required under Section 129 of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 to reduce air pollution from incinerators. The rules require states to develop plans to reduce pollution from existing MWIs, built on or before June 20, 1996, and from new units, built after that date. If a State already had rules in place, then those rules remain in effect but may have to be amended to meet the new Federal regulations. The State rules (and those for some local agencies) can be more stringent than the Federal Rules but must be as least as strong. The time for development of the State Plans has now passed as this is written, so all State Plans presumably have been completed and submitted for EPA approval. 

Williams, P. T. (1994) Pollutants from Incineration An Overview, in Issues in Environmental Technology 2 Waste Incineration and the Environment, (eds R. E. Hester and R. M. Harrison), Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, pp. 27-52. 

The US rules from their EPA identify medical waste incineration as the third largest known source to the enviromnent of highly toxic dioxin, a known carcinogen thathas been linked to immune system disorders. Incineration is also responsible for about 10 percent of mercury emissions to the environment. Other pollutants from incineration include furans, acid gases, heavy metals and particulates. Given that alternatives to incineration are available, a complete phase-out of medical waste incineration is appropriate. ... 

Local autliority control of au pollution covers a second tier of less-polluting processes. Incinerators for waste chemicals, or waste plastic arising from their manufacture, and other waste incinerators dependent upon size are, however, subject to both the BATNEEC and BPEO requirements under the IPC regime. 

This paper discusses waste management in the city of Paris. Data on solid wastes in Paris is provided, then the role of incineration, and the use of energy from incineration (heating network, production of electricity, total energy recovery), is examined. Air pollution standards are listed, and a comparison made between the different energies used for a heating network. Finally, future considerations are discussed. 

The wastewater generated in the membrane cell and other process wastewaters in the cell are generally treated by neutralization.28 Other pollutants similar to those in mercury and diaphragm cells are treated in the same process stated above. Ion exchange and xanthate precipitation methods can be applied in this process to remove the metal pollutants, while incineration can be applied to eliminate some of the hydrocarbons. The use of modified diaphragms that resist corrosion and degradation will help in reducing the amount of lead, asbestos, and chlorinated hydrocarbon in the wastewater stream from the chlor-alkali industry.28... 

Figure 14 Incineration system flow diagram. Waste is incinerated in the presence of air and supplemental fuel the incinerator can be multiple hearth, fluidized bed, liquid injection, rotary kiln, or other types caustic or lime scrubbers are used to remove gaseous pollutants from exhaust gases (from Ref. 11).

Benestad C, Moeller M, Osvik A, et al. 1985. Air pollution from biomass heated boilers compared with that from waste incineration and oil combustion. Energy Biomass 1985 819-821. 

The costs of incinerators and their pollution potential have made them far less popular in the United States than in many other parts of the world. (A form of incineration known as high temperature combustion remains a major method of waste disposal in Japan and some parts of Europe, however.) After World War II, construction of new incinerators decreased until the total number of plants in the United States fell to an all-time low of about 15 in I960. Then the number rose for two decades before declining once more to the current level of about II2 incinerators, as shown in the graph. A major factor in the latest shift away from incineration as a method of waste disposal was the 1970 Clean Air Act, which strictly limited the amount and... 

Lurgi Energie und Umwelt GmbH, International Symposium Separation and Treatment of Pollutants from Waste Incineration Flue Gases, Frankfurt, September 1993. 

In October 2005, under authority of the Clean Air Act and RCRA, the EPA issued its final national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants from hazardous waste combustors. The standards require hazardous waste combustors to meet hazardous air pollutant emission standards reflecting the application of maximum achievable controllable technology (MACT). These standards are applicable to any hazardous waste incinerator, including the chemical agent disposal facilities. In some states, separate air permits are issued to hazardous waste incinerators, while in others the RCRA permit requirements are adopted or changed to implement the requirements of the new MACT emissions standards for controlling the following pollutants ... 

Several countries have introduced stringent emission limits (0.1 ng-TE/Nm ) for chlorinated dioxins and furans emitted from combustion sources, in particular solid waste incinerators, because of concerns over their adverse health effects. Technologies for reducing their formation and emission in incineration processes have been studied extensively and can be applied in modern incineration plants. Activated carbon injection and fabric filtration are currently practiced in many installations. However, to minimize capital cost, a more fundamental approach is needed to control and limit formation of these pollutants in incineration processes, e.g., involving the postcombustion zone, the combustion chamber, and waste feeding. ... 

Hangebrauck, R. P. von Lehmden, D. J., and Meeker, J. E. Emissions of polynuclear hydrocarbons and other pollutants from heat generation and incineration processes. J. Air Pollut. Control Assn., 14(7) 267—278 (1964). 

Carrol JW, Guinivan TL, Tuggle RM. 1979. Assessment of hazardous air pollutants from disposal of munitions in a prototype fluidized bed incinerator. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J 40 147-158. 

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